4:1 Then Israel went out to engage the Philistines in battle. They camped at Ebenezer,⁵ and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 4:2 The Philistines arranged their forces to engage Israel. As the battle spread out,⁶ Israel was defeated before the Philistines. They⁷ killed about four thousand men in the battle line in the field.

4:3 When the army came back to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why did the LORD let us be defeated today before the Philistines? Let’s take the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh so that it may come in our midst and save us from the hand of our enemies.

4:4 So the people sent to Shiloh and they took from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts who sits between the cherubim. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 4:5 When the ark of the covenant of the LORD arrived at the camp, all Israel raised a great shout such that the ground shook.

4:6 When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, “What was that loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” Then they realized that the ark of the LORD had arrived at the camp. 4:7 The Philistines were scared because they thought that gods had come to the camp. They said, “Too bad for us! We’ve never seen anything like this! 4:8 Too bad for us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert! 4:9 Be strong, and act like men, O Philistines, lest you wind up serving the Hebrews the way they have served you! Act like men and fight!”

4:10 So the Philistines fought. They defeated Israel, causing them to flee to their tents. The slaughter was very great; 3,000 foot soldiers fell dead. 4:11 The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, died.

4:12 On that day⁸ a Benjamite fellow ran from the battle front and came to Shiloh. His garments were torn and dust was on his head. 4:13 When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of⁹ the road, for he was apprehensive¹⁰ about the ark of God. As the man entered to give the city a report, the whole city cried out.

4:14 When Eli heard the sound of the cry, he said, “What is the sound of this commotion?” The man quickly came and told Eli. 4:15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead;¹¹ he was unable to see.

4:16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one coming from the battle front! Just today I fled from the battle front!” He asked, “How were things going, my son?” 4:17 The one who was bringing the news answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines! The army has sustained a great slaughter! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”

4:18 When he made mention of the ark of God, Eli fell backward from the chair beside the gate. His neck was thus broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

4:19 His daughter in law, the wife of Phineas, was pregnant and close to giving birth. When she heard the report about the capture of the ark of God and the death of her father in law and her husband, she doubled over and gave birth. But her labor pangs were too much for her. 4:20 As she was dying, the women who were taking care of her said, “Don’t fear! You have given birth to a son!” But she did not answer or pay attention.¹²

4:21 She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father in law and her husband. 4:22 She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”